Sunday Morning... Papa made a big breakfast like he does most Sunday mornings... Clean up, get dressed, make lunches, pack bags... Papa walks out of our bedroom in the most peculiar of costumes...
Cow boy boots, shaved head, bushy beard, worn jeans, and his "nice dress shirt"...
"We're going to chop down our Christmas tree right?" I question because the outfit doesn't quite fit the activity.
He smiles. I know he's never been one to care much about fashion. He knows it too. :)
He strolls up to me, rests his thick hands on my waist and I clasp my hands together around his neck. We look into one another. "I love these boots," he says with a chuckle.
"I know you do. But for cutting down a tree?"
In his deep voice he replies, "I'm a manly man... and these are my manly man boots." Then that smile that still gets to me after all these years creeps across his face again and he pulls me in close and we both chuckle a little bit.
He IS a manly man... just another thing that I love about him. He kisses my forehead, grabs his long saw, picks up the littlest treasure and we all follow him out the front door and pile into the car.
Thus our hunt begins...
One quick stop at the middle school parking lot... we get our tree-cutting permit and the kids meet smokey the bear.
We're off again.
The Gaw family in the front,
The Peek family in the rear,
and us smack in the middle...
Paved road turns into dirt road, and we drive and we drive and we drive, switch back up the mountain until we get to the perfect spot in hopes of finding the perfect tree.
We jump out... Kids immediately find the mud... they jump and romp around... we offer them wisdom to not get wet, for then they might be cold... but they can't hear us and they just continue on in their joy... and we let them... after all today is a day of joy and adventure!
So grateful to be with friends.
Papa sports his saw...
and hand in hand, the adventure begins...
Up hills, through the trees, over rocks...
There's laughter,
Family...
Discoveries...
Courage...
Friendship...
Brothers & Sisters...
Mama's favorite... Brother voluntarily holding sister's hand...
And then the tree... The one that seems like it might actually be THE ONE... Mama found several tall, beautiful trees but Papa felt that Mama's eyes were to big for our home... so in all the forest, on top of the vast mountain... we picked the Charlie Brown Tree...
Papa carries it off, back up the hill...
Puts it in the trailer...
Halee helps her sister up to view the glorious tree...
We all hang out, eat snacks, take a break from the adventure...
WE brought it home. Papa got it all trimmed and ready in the man cave. He carried it inside and found a spot right in front of tall window.
"It's perfect." He said with that same smile from the morning when he was trying so sweetly to convince me of his cowboy boots...
"It's humble looking, but it's perfect." He went on as he read my face... he could see me desperately trying to find joy in my disappointment.
"Out of ALL the trees on the mountain... this is the one that we picked? Really?"
He chuckled...
Then Siah... my sweet, genuine Siah piped in...
"Mama. This is the BEST tree we've ever had!"
And that... that little joy-filled comment was all I needed to know that our tree was just right.
So here it is...
Our glorious, maybe not so manly-man, but so absolutely perfect for us Christmas Tree.
Seriously one of the most fun things we've ever done!
